2013
Leak probes, surveillance constrict freedom of the press in U.S.
Washington, October 10, 2013–The Obama administration’s aggressive war on leaks and other efforts to control information are without precedent, according to 30 experienced Washington journalists interviewed for a new report released today by the Committee to Protect Journalists. The report found that despite President Barack Obama’s promise to head the most open government in American…
The US press is our press
The international media depend on the U.S. press to cover U.S. stories–and many of these, from the subprime mortgage crisis to NSA surveillance, are global stories because of their worldwide repercussions. But international journalists also rely on the U.S. press to report and comment on most world events. Therefore any restriction on U.S. journalists’ freedom…
Live stream: Obama and the press
The Committee to Protect Journalists today released its first comprehensive report on press freedom conditions in the United States. Leonard Downie Jr., former Washington Post executive editor and now the Weil Family Professor of Journalism at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, is the author. Tune in here for a…
Uruguayan broadcast bill could be regional model
“Governments pass, but laws stay,” said Uruguayan President José Mujica. During a meeting with CPJ, and representatives from Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders at the president’s executive office in Montevideo, the political capital, the former member of the leftist guerrilla group Tupamaros reflected on the upcoming congressional debate over new broadcast legislation. “It…
France confirms two journalists missing in Syria
New York, October 9, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the abduction of two French journalists in Syria and calls on all sides of the conflict to stop targeting the press. Nicolas Hénin, who regularly reports for French news magazine Le Point and Franco-German TV channel Arte, and Pierre Torres, a photographer covering local elections,…
Westgate siege shows press’ lack of security training
Rumor had it that thieves and police had exchanged gunfire during the robbery of a bank at the Westgate Mall. That was the word that first reached some Nairobi newsrooms that Saturday about the gunshots many Kenyans heard coming from the luxurious shopping mall.
CPJ welcomes release of Liberian journalist Rodney Sieh
New York, October 8, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Monday’s decision by Liberia’s Ministry of Justice to grant Rodney Sieh–the publisher of FrontPageAfrica who has been jailed since August for not paying libel damages–“compassionate release” for 30 days. The conditions behind Sieh’s release were not clear, but the journalist’s health had deteriorated in prison.…
John Greyson detention exposes Egypt’s arbitrary policy
Egypt is going through a tough transition and journalists are paying a considerable toll. Since the July 3 removal of President Mohamed Morsi, at least five journalists have been killed, 30 assaulted, and 11 news outlets raided. CPJ has documented a total of 44 cases of detention, and at least five journalists remain behind bars.…
Two Iraqi journalists shot dead in Mosul
New York, October 7, 2013–Two Iraqi journalists were shot dead by unidentified assailants in the city of Mosul on Saturday, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the killing and calls on the Iraqi government to ensure the perpetrators are held to account.